The foxes of Qingqiu tried all means to prevent Cang Yu and Rong Dan from meeting, but they didn't know that the two were trying to not do so as well.
It's one thing for Chun Ge to agree to Rong Dan hiding in Qingqiu for a few days, but her dislike for Rong Dan was something else entirely, so her attitude hasn't changed at all. In the huge Qingqiu, Rong Dan was still as lonely and helpless as before. No one cared about her, and no one helped her. If this was ten years ago, she would've been in despair.
But now that she's experienced the world of heaven, Rong Dan's mind is a bit more open-minded. No matter how uncomfortable Chun Ge's biting words were, they were better than those fairies' sugarcoated daggers. Of course, she won't deceive herself to the point of thinking that Chun Ge was merely just an impudent fox. She even feels that the fox leader was quite magnanimous, so she wisely stayed in her one-third of an acre home, occasionally taking a walk outside without feeling resentful.
She was well prepared. Chun Ge was a little dumbfounded. She was waiting for Rong Dan to come to her door to complain and yell., for her to feel insulted, but she seemed quite cool with it and didn't care at all. She was a puzzled for a while.
Foxes throughout Qingqiu had heard of Rong Dan's name more or less, but Xuan Jie knows only a bit about her. First, when he was young, he studied cultivation with Chi Shuishui and didn't distract himself incessantly, so he rarely listened to these gossips; second, Qian Niang reminisce about Cang Yu's love. It was never explained clearly, most of it was heard in passing.
Therefore, what Xuan Jie knew now is only that Rong Dan was once Cang Yu's wife, but now she's in love with Lin Yong from the heavens and would be staying in Qingqiu temporarily for a few days.
Xuan Jie was born alienated from all things in the mortal world, his temperament couldn't be colder or more indifferent. These gossips and anecdotes passed around by the little foxes and were told with gusto. He didn't care much, even though one of the protagonists was Cang Yu.
Among the group of little fox cubs, only three little demons, Xuan Jie, Chi Luo, and Bai Shu, had successfully transformed. The others were still rolling on the grass with their chubby bellies. Chi Shuishui occasionally let them be by themselves. The three of them took everyone to the edges to laze around.
Among these cubs, Xuan Jie was indeed the strongest, but he's too independent. Almost every fox cub wasn't close to him, so Chi Luo and Bai Shu were the undecided leaders.
Chi Luo and Bai Shu had just finished gossiping, and they smiled and pinched the soft flesh pads of some foxes. They saw Xuan Jie sitting under the moonlight and resting in the distance. They couldn't help but look at each other, and suddenly their expressions stiffened. They finally remembered that the subject of gossip was Xuan Jie's family, and couldn't help but feel very embarrassed of their etiquette.
The two little demons had always had the best relationship and had a perfect tacit understanding. Now they couldn't help but feel annoyed at this tacit understanding. They read each other's thoughts the moment their eyes met, and they urged the other to get up and apologize. Chi Luo was a little less patient and couldn't defeat the thick-skinned Bai Shu, so he sighed and got up to seek a mysterious solution.
Bai Shu didn't want to get into trouble, so he followed behind and they walked over together.
Chi Luo slowly moved away and asked cautiously: "Xuan Jie, are you angry?" He was ready to escape, ensuring that he could escape unharmed once Xuan Jie bursts out.
This was a strange question. Xuan Jie raised his head and glanced at him, with a slightly confused look on his face.
The three little demons had different appearances after transforming. Chi Luo and Bai Shu had transformed into young boys of thirteen or fourteen. They were handsome and cute, very agile, and had a maturity and intelligence beyond their age. Although Xuan Jie transformed into a young man of about twenty years old, he had an indifferent temperament so he appeared much more innocent and childish than he looked.
Bai Shu was much more courageous than Chi Luo. Seeing that Xuan Jie didn't look mad, he didn't give in while the coast was clear. Instead, he came close to him, holding Xuan Jie to his left and Chi Luo to the right. Both of them were of similar stature and squeezed next to Xuan Jie, they looked like two beautiful fairy boys carved from jade. He smiled and said: "Xuan Jie, we want to go for a walk in the vine flower forest today, will you go with?"
Chi Luo didn't expect this. When Bai Shu finished, he couldn't help but glare at him.
The flower forest was where Rong Dan lives, and in Qingqiu is a spiritual place full of graceful spirits. Flowers never fade, always blooming, and evergreen trees. But not far away, there's an old tree demon so old no one remembers just how old. After attaining enlightenment, the empty shell that was shed was left with entangled roots. A tree demon gave birth to a forest, and as soon as the old tree demon left, the forest withered. Later, several green vine demons took over the empty space and built their nests. As soon as spring comes, the forest would be filled with colorful flowers and intense fragrance of flowers, so it's called the Vine Flower Forest.
Xuan Jie thought for a while and didn't refuse.
Bai Shu glanced at Chi Luo triumphantly, then stretched out his little finger to hook up with Xuan Jie's, making an appointment with him at a time and place to meet, and then happily dragged Chi Luo away.
Chi Luo walked farther away before asking in a low voice: "Why did you ask Xuan Jie?"
"I don't know what dangers there'll be in the vine flower forest. Of course it'd be much safer if Xuan Jie went," Bai Shu quietly responded, "The matriarch is so strict. Although the great elder didn't do anything, he might be very worried about the half-demon, but just couldn't come forward. If Xuan Jie goes with us, the clan leader can't say anything. The great elder don't need to make the clan leader angry just to know whether she's doing well or not."
Chi Luo heard the first sentence and wanted to praise Bai Shu for being smart, but he heard the second sentence and suddenly became dissatisfied: "Does well or not? Does it matter?"
Bai Shu sighed old-fashionedly, looking like a disappointed little adult. He said softly: "It doesn't matter whether she's doing well or not, but if she's doing well, the great elder will naturally feel much better. My father gets angry with my mother, but still can't bear to leave her sad. I think the great elder's like this too."
After hearing this, Chi Luo reluctantly agreed.
Later that evening, the three of them met according to the agreed time. Xuan Jie came the latest. Bai Shu and Chi Luo had been chatting for half an hour. They even ate a whole bag of melon seeds and pine cones. Seeing the mess on the ground, they looked at each other and smiled. They were too embarrassed to worry about Xuan Jie being late, so they stopped talking and set off immediately.
No matter how smart Bai Shu and Chi Luo are, they were still two immature young men. Their thoughts change as quickly as the March day. They were inseparable on weekdays. During this time, Xuan Jie has endured many topics of great interest, decided what things to do for fun later, and didn't take the mystery into account at all. So they were I look at you and you look at me, and were both a little dumbfounded. Their interest in exploring the vine flower forest had already been mostly reduced, so they were a little downcast.
They didn't know whether Xuan Jie didn't care or just didn't know anything, he casually walked towards the vine flower forest.
Seeing Bai Shu's gloomy expression, Chi Luo leaned over to comfort him and said, "Did you forgotten what I said during the day? Let's send Xuan Jie to the vine flower forest. It's not too late to play somewhere else."
Bai Shu reluctantly cheered up, he's a fox with many ideas and inspirations, he's gentle, delicate, and considerate. He has only one flaw. With all his interests, he abandons plans at the drop of a hat and comes up with different ones as soon as he does; Chi Luo ln the contrary, even if he was very interested in other things, still wants to finish the thing at hand first.
The two foxes followed Xuan Jie along the way, and unknowingly walked through the hillside and passed through the vine flower forest. Although it was no longer spring, the vine flowers on the branches were still beautiful and full of fragrance. At first, the fragrance was quite pleasant. The deeper you go, the denser the layers were, and the fragrance made the monsters dizzy.
Xuan Jie didn't look and carried Chi Luo and Bai Shu forward. Chi Luo couldn't help but looked back out of curiosity and saw two beautiful flower demons leaning out from the branches and laughing at them. Obviously they were teasing them.
Chi Luo saw that they were very beautiful, and most of his anger suddenly dissipated, he couldn't help but blush.
Bai Shu saw him blushing and opened his mouth to tease him, which made the thin-skinned Chi Luo angry. The two of them didn't care that they were still being carried by Xuan Jie. They stretched out their paws and started pecking at each other, swinging around and screaming. Xuan Jie frowned and threw them both to the ground.
Chi Luo stood up embarrassedly, feeling that his behavior just now was too childish. He caught a glimpse of a pavilion next to him, and hurriedly found a step to go down on. He changed the subject and said, "Xuan Jie, aren't you tired from walking? There's a pavilion over there. Let's go over and have a rest first."
Xuan Jie nodded and they walked over together. The pavilion was built very high, there was a long staircase. When they walked up, there discovered complete sets of tables and chairs inside, but it was a pity that there was already someone there.
It was a beautiful woman.
The only woman who can appear in this place at this hour would only be "that woman".
Chi Luo and Bai Shu looked at each other. They had heard a lot of criticisms against Rong Dan, and even gossiped about her marriage to Cang Yu. However, it was a secret matter after all. Now that they met in person, they saw her looking haggard, sad, and pitiful. Under the moonlight, it was like a fairy descending to earth. They was speechless, hid those hurtful words, pushed each other for a while, and refused to sit down.
Xuan Jie wasn't as worried as them. He walked directly into the pavilion and sat down, like he just really wanted to take a rest.
Bai Shu looked at Chi Luo, who poked at each other's waists with their fingers, and threatened in a low voice: "I went to find Xuan Jie during the day."
After hearing this, Bai Shu lamented silently in his heart, knowing that they were being unreasonable. But after talking, he changed his mind and suddenly came up with a brilliant idea. After grabbing Chi Luo, he said to Xuan Jie: "Chi Lui's so naughty. He wants to go back to the vine flower forest to see the flower demon. Xuan Jie, just rest here, I'll take him to have a look and come back."
Xuan Jie nodded.
Chi Luo whispered: "You're bullying Xuan Jie."
Bai Shu asked back: "Then do you have a better idea?"
Chi Luo thought about it for a moment and made a decision immediately. He said in disbelief: "Why are you still here? Let's go quickly, bah!"
Bai Shu: "..."
Rong Dan looked at the two young men who had found an excuse and fled away. She knew that it must be because of her. It wasn't sad, but it was indeed a bit uncomfortable. Seeing that Xuan Jie had no intention of leaving, she couldn't help but wonder: "Aren't you go with your friends to see the flower demons?"
Xuan Jie shook his head.
"Ah—" Rong Dan's heart trembled and she whispered, "Don't you know who I am?"
Xuan Jie looked at the bright moon in the sky and spoke casually: "How important can you be."